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Billionaire Hedge Fund Owner Crusades For Marijuana Legalization In USA

"With a group of like-minded, wealthy donors, Mr. Soros is dominant player in the pro-legalization side of the Marijuana debate by funding grass-roots initiatives that began in New York City and ended up affecting local politics around the nation.

Through a network of nonprofit groups, Mr. Soros has spent at least $80-M on the legalization effort since Y 1994, when he diverted a portion of his foundation’s funds to organizations exploring alternative drug policies, according to tax filings.

His spending has been supplemented by Peter B. Lewis, the late chairman of Progressive Insurance Co. and an unabashed Marijuana smoker who channeled more than $40-M to influence local debates, according to the National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws. The 2 billionaires’ funding has been unmatched by anyone on the other side of the debate.

Mr. Soros makes his donations through the Drug Policy Alliance, a nonprofit he funds with roughly $4-M in annual contributions from his Foundation to Promote an Open Society.

Mr. Soros also donates annually to the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU), which in turn funds Marijuana legalization efforts, and he has given periodically to the Marijuana Policy Project, which funds state ballot measures.

Mr. Lewis, who died in November, donated to legalization efforts in his name and through the ACLU and the Marijuana Policy Project, on which he served as the Chairman of the Board.

The Lewis estate management declined to comment.

Mr. Soros‘ Open Society Foundations have assets of more than $3.5-B, a pool from which he can dole out grants to projects, according to 2011 tax returns, the most recent on file for his charitable organizations.

Mr. Soros did not respond to a request for comment.

In his book “Soros on Soros: Staying Ahead of the Curve,” he said the US policy of criminalizing drug use rather than treating it as a medical problem is so ill-conceived that “the remedy is often worse than the disease.”

Although Mr. Soros did not outline an alternative in his book, he wrote that he could imagine legalizing some of the less-harmful drugs and directing the money saved from the criminal justice system to treatment.

“Like many parents and grandparents, I am worried about young people getting into trouble with Marijuana and other drugs. The best solution is honest and effective drug education,” Mr. Soros said in a Y 2010 op-ed in the WS-J. “Legalizing Marijuana may make it easier for adults to buy Marijuana, but it can hardly make it any more accessible to young people. I’d much rather invest in effective education than ineffective arrest and incarceration.”

http://www.livetradingnews.com/billionaire-hedge-fund-owner-crusades-for-marijuana-legalization-in-usa-41331.htm#.Uz5HcqJbe1s